Corsica

Corsica a mainland continent in Second Life main grid.

Corsica in August 2013

The continent was first developed as a French continent, since Corsica is a French island. Today, the population of the continent belongs to various nations and English is the most spoken language. It is linked East with Gaeta 5 and South with Nautilus with 3 Transcontinental Channels. It is also the continent with the largest amount of land owned by land corporations.

History

Construction of this continent started in august 1st 2007, from West to East In the first month 90% of the continent was completed. The East shores had to wait until April 9th 2008. So, the construction took 253 days [1]. After the moment when the last sim was built in Corsica, in a few days started the construction of Gaeta 5.

These Coordinates are in sims, the same way they are released from Gridsurvey [2]. The numbers are, for each subdivision: longitude (min) - longitude (max) / latitude (min) - latitude (max). Note that the names are not official, they are based on some simple geographic features.

Continent: 1100-1159/1081-1100

West Corsica Sea: 1100-1112/1081-1098

West Island: 1113-1125/1084-1100

Central Land: 1126-1147/1083-1097

East Peninsulas: 1148-1159/1084-1100

Linden Memorial: 1137-1140/1098-1099

Grid Sector: K10

Statistical data

Number of sims: 948 (size: 20/61)

Dimensions in km: 62.13 square km (size: 5.12/15.62)

Completely flooded sims: 110

Dryland sims: 176

Coastal sims (water access): 662

Sims with road access: 130

Sims without direct access: 198

Population density: med-low

Geography

Geographic regions

Corsica is a gigantic plateau. The geographic features are: the plateau, the plains, the hills and the ocean. Corsica has no mountains. The Linden Memorial in North has its own geographical features.

The plateau is easy to recognize from its white texture. The ground is not good for agriculture, it is dried and rocky. The vast plateau has an average height of 160 meters (145 above sea level). It looks like a large plain, but the altitude is not uniform. Small altitude changes can be observed from sim to sim. The land is not very fragmented, there are no hills or valleys on the plateau. Population is low and parcels of abandoned land are easy to find. Sometimes, the land was abandoned a long time ago and it is in an advanced state of degradation, with many slopes and holes. The borders of former parcels are easy to be seen by the terraforming the old residents have made.

There are no mountains in Corsica (see Mountains Of East Continents for details). However, around Temple Of The Prim (Kwaito sim and other nearby sims), plateau border has a very high declivity and creates the impression of a mountain area. A wooden trail, continued with a path, allows some access around the area. On top of the plateau, Temple Of The Prim was built. Currently, it is almost abandoned.

The hills are covered with grass, with a similar texture to that of other continents. The hills are a transition from the shore to the inner plateau. Sometimes, when the plateau is very close to the ocean, the declivity is much higher and the hills look like coast mountains. This is the most populated part of the continent. Many constructions can be found close to the ocean. There are two groups of hills: one that separates the ocean from the plains (an oceanic coast) and a second that separates the plains from the plateau. Sometimes, these groups unite into a single one. The hills are not very high and don't have a high declivity. It is easy to build a road that climbs directly on them.

The plain can be considered a lower part of the plateau. It has a green texture (a bit different from the oceanic coast). Sometimes, the plain enters deep into the continent and separates the plateau into remote heights. In these places, if there is a road nearby, population density is as high as at the seaside. However, abandoned parcels are easy to be found and are more common in places without road access.

The ocean is different then it is in other continents. Water is much deeper close to the shore and the coast is higher. This is a problem for terraforming. There are polders around the coast, but usually the artificial islands are built with objects and not with terraforming instruments. The ocean floor is grey, a bit whiter then it is in Jeogeot. Sometimes, the ocean floor hosts incredible underwater gardens.

Linden Memorial is a subcontinent with a rectangular shape, Linden-owned. It is composed of plains or low hills separated by rivers, sometimes covered with vegetation. In its center, there is a large square with a torch, surrounded by water. There are small roads that connect all parcels. In one place, there is a place full with flowers, might be considered an avatar cemetery, with a name above every flower. Central sim, also called Linden Memorial, has some unique features. Water level is low (about 6 meters, while ocean water is usually at 12...13 meters). There are a lot of waterfalls around the lake, created behind a few Dams, where water from the rivers flow into the inner lake. All rivers of the memorial are connected to the ocean and have the same elevage. Since they flow from the ocean to the inner lake, that means that the inner lake is in fact salt water. Inside the Linden Memorial, scripts are not allowed.

Altitude

Altitude map

The Altitude map reveals some interesting features of Corsica. Vast surfaces around the coast, small islands and peninsulas, were found to have low altitude. The plain of Corsica is relatively smooth. Altitude transition is very high between plain borders and the high plateaus. These plateaus are not as smooth as the plains. The biggest surprise is the existence of parcels with a very high elevation in South, more then 160 meters. There is a visible difference between high parcels and the rest of the plateau.

Small islands are low, but with one exception in South. Large islands that host plateaus are high. There are no closed depressions, like in Heterocera or Satori.

Important altitude changes are sometimes near the coast, showing parcels with high declivity, higher then in all nearby continents. They can be considered mountains without any mistake.

The highest altitude was found to be 163 meters, in Android sim.

Transportation

Corsica has its own road system, the circuit. This road and its divergent roads form a continental network. It is not as developed as the road network of Heterocera or Sansara, but still more useful then the road systems or other continents. Additional access ways include parcels of Abandoned Land and sometimes Unused Land from the rental corporations.

Water transportation is very important, since this continent is at the crossroads between other continents and its waters are in fact intercontinental waters. However, protected waterways vary from entire sims to little passages that are uncompleted and difficult to be followed. Many of the internal waters are private-owned and sometimes it is Land With Restricted Access. Still, it is possible to sail along entire continent.

There are 3 Transcontinental Channels that allow access to Nautilus (the 3rd one was finished in August 27th 2014). The first two allow access to remote seas of Nautilus, while the last one is private-owned and allows access to Blake Sea and Satori.

Air transportation is possible across large surfaces of land, the continent has its own airports. however, the presence of ban lines and entity orb teleporters reduce the efficiency of air transport. Many of these entity orbs teleport without a warning.

Transportation efficiency

Corsica transportation ways

More info at Corsica Network and Waterways.

Total road network:         27.68
Conventional roads:         26.71
Paths:                       0.97
Sea connection:               yes
Unconnected road pieces:        3
Continent surface:          62.13
Land coverage:              0.445 km per square km

Road efficiency index: 0.382

Water efficiency index: 1.624

Total transport efficiency index: 1.906

Accesibility

Corsica has many parcels of Land With Restricted Access. Ban lines and entity orb teleporters are frequent and are a real threat for air transportation. Their frequency is higher then in Sansara or Zindra, but by far lower then in Nautilus.

Useful links

Corsica Network - about the road network

[3] - Use this link to get to the Second Life Wikia

Linden Lab Official:Linden Memorial Park

List Of Continents

Second Life Geography